Category: Art & Architecture

Round Britain: Seward & Kirkcudbright

On By Carol HenshawIn Art & Architecture, Scotland1 Comment

Early evening on the day before we left Seaward I got my telephoto lens out and took a photo of Little Ross Island and its lighthouse.

Heavy rain woke us during the night but there was a lull to allow us to pack up and leave. Our first stop was Kirkcudbright which we had last visited in 2017. Apparently in 1931 Dorothy L Sayers referred to it in her book Three Red Herrings as ‘Colourful heritage, cobbled streets and eighteenth century boulevards make the artists town on the banks of the River Dee a great weekend break’. We parked near St Cuthbert’s Church which was built in 1838.

A much earlier church said to have been established in the 7th century was situated to the east of the town and other buildings used until the population grew and St Cuthbert’s was built. I had a wander down to the harbour on the banks of the River Dee

and then we found a coffee before visiting the Galleries in the old town hall. The exhibition I particularly wanted to see was Eardley Explored: the Art of Joan Eardley with photography by Audrey Walker. Audrey Walker was a friend of Joan Eardley. The ground floor contains works by artists who worked in and around Kirkcudbright including John Faed, EA Hornel, Jessie M King, Charles Oppenheimer, Robert Sivell and Phyllis Bone. The collection included paintings, drawings, illustrations, book covers and ceramics. Here are a few of the paintings.

MacLellan’s Castle also sits in the town and was built in the late 16th century.

Greyfriars Episcopal Church featured in the 1973 horror movie The Wicker Man. Leaving Kirkcudbright on the A711, we passed through Mutehill and then passed a large MOD range. The next stop was Dundrennan Abbey which is under the care of Historic Scotland but like many of their buildings is not completely accessible inside due to delays in assessing and dealing with problems during the pandemic.

Continuing we passed through Auchencairn and Polnackie before crossing a bridge to Dalbeattie. It has a large modern ‘learning campus’ which contains a nursery, primary and secondary schools. The Solway Coastal route passed through Barnbarroh, Colvend, Sandyhills, Mersehead Sands and Kirkbean. We stopped for lunch at a viewpoint near Drumburn but there was not much of a view.

Torrential rain began again and was forecast to continue for the next 48 hours. There was already a lot of water on the roads and flooding was obviously a risk. We had planned to continue our journey round the Solway coast but decided to return home a little early.                            

A Morning in Kew Gardens

On By Carol HenshawIn Art & Architecture, Flowers. plants & trees, ScotlandLeave a comment

While spending a few days with a friend in London we had a rare dry day this summer and decided to explore Kew Gardens which is close to their flat. The last couple of times we have been here was for musical events in the evening. Our last daytime visit was in 2016. Entering via the Elizabeth Gate as soon as it opened, one of the first trees we came to was an Indian Horse Chestnut which had some seeds beginning to appear.  

Further on was a tall Weeping Silver Lime: James standing beside it gives an idea of how tall it was.  

Just past this were some agapanthus which were almost finished flowering. This one had a bee finding some nectar.

We then came upon Kew Palace. It was the royal retreat of George III and Queen Charlotte: royal occupation lasted from 1728 until 1818, with another short spell in 1844. The house opens an hour later than the main garden.

Walking on towards the woodland I noticed a sign near the entrance to a badger sett which that said there were twenty setts in the gardens. We passed some Canada Geese on the grass.

Later on, one sitting on the path was not at all bothered by us being close by.

There were several very large old trees including this Atlas Cedar

and Sweet Chestnut.  

On our way to the Bamboo Garden and the lake we passed a large section of rhododendrons. A notice next to this Rhododendron ponticum (the common rhododendron) said that it has been found by some scientists to be toxic to honey bees and a wild mining bee species. This plant is an invasive species and is probably contributing to the declining bee populations.

White mulberry is native to central China but is cultivated worldwide for the silk industry. The Romans first introduced them into the UK. It is a fast-growing short-lived tree which is grown to feed to silkworms in silk production.

Minka House is a 100 year old farmhouse that once stood in the city of Okazaki in Japan. The Yonezu family used it as their home after their original house had been bombed during the Second World War. It was donated to Kew and reconstructed here as a centerpiece of the 2001 Japan Festival in the UK.

The Bamboo Garden is close by. 

In my last garden the only bamboo that was not invasive and stayed where it had been planted was a Phyllostachys nigra variant.  The Lake had a swan family and a pair of coots with their two chicks and a gull snoozing on a rock on the lakeside.

On the banks were some colourful salvias.

Just across the lake bridge is a sculpture:  

The Wander Project has involved five inspiring leaders to contribute to new trails through the gardens: wanderers, adventurers, dreamers, protectors and time travellers. Heading on we passed an avenue of trees

and then walked down the Broad Avenue which is lined with plants.  

The Pagoda Tree was planted in 1760 and once stood 15m tall. Now only the lowermost branch survives with supports.

On a slight hillock is The Hive. It is an installation created to emphasise the importance of pollinators and is illuminated by almost 1,000 flickering LED lights in synch with orchestral music pulsating in time to vibrations produced by bees humming which were recorded in Kew beehives.

It is surrounded by a meadow.  

After that we saw a sculpture on the lawn: ‘A maxima ad minima – from the greatest to the least’ by Eduardo Paolozzi.

The Princess of Wales Conservatory has sections for succulents and cacti

with a wonderful one in flower.  

There are then moist sections for tropical rainforest plants

including large water lilies

and an arid plant section.  

The Palm House is situated near a pond    

Passing the Temple of Bellona which was built in 1760    

we reached the Shirley Sherwood Gallery to see an exhibition.  

Kew Gardens was once the site of the first mosque built on British soil in the 1760s. It was designed by William Chambers and was not intended for worship. He often built structures inspired by his travels. The exhibition  ‘Plants of the Qur’ān’ is the culmination of a research project between Kew scientist Dr Shahina Ghazanfar and botanical artist Sue Wickison. There are many detailed watercolour paintings and then it ends in a very colourful room.  

By the time we came out the gardens were getting very busy so we decided it was time to leave

The Great British Car Journey

On By Carol HenshawIn Art & Architecture, England, museumsLeave a comment

My family have a history of vehicles including cars. My great grandfather ran a garage: 

my grandfather was a locomotive engineer and my father was chief engineer for Alexander’s Coachbuilders. My brother used to work at Lotus and is still a fan of old cars and vans. I once had a photo on Guardian Witness when the theme was ‘the family car’ having submitted a photo of the 1932 Rolls Royce my parents had in the 1960s.  

We visited the Great British Car Journey museum in Ambergate because my sister in law’s memorial event was being held there. My brother met her when she was working at a nearby filling station. The museum is situated in what was an old wire works on the banks of the River Derwent.  

It starts with Herbert Austin designing a small car and setting off the British Car Industry.   There are various makes, travelling through the years.

  Some cars, like this Vauxhall Victor belonged to a specific individual, sometimes with a story attached.

There was one of the first Landrovers

and a Reliant Scimitar which my mother had many years ago.    

There were many others including this 1981 DeLorean.

At the back of the building there was a workshop where the restoration work is done. There is also a cafe. You can opt to drive one of the vehicles (accompanied by an instructor). There is a large poster at the back of the museum showing all the options and the prices.

Some of these vehicles were in a garage outside the museum.

Before leaving we crossed over to the buildings on the other side of the river. The White Peak Distillery is here and also a local artist based nearby who painted a mural on this building:

A new mural in North Berwick

On By Carol HenshawIn Art & Architecture, Beaches, East Lothian, Scotland2 Comments

The new mural sits on the wall of the old pier in North Berwick Harbour.

It began when Elizabeth Vischer, a local from East Lothian, set herself the challenge of carrying out 100 beach cleans during lockdown. She collected 26,513 pieces of plastic from Longniddry Bents. Plastic waste is a huge threat to wildlife and the environment. Currently, only 20% of plastic waste is recycled. Julie Barnes, a local artist was commissioned to build a mural with the plastic waste. 33,000 pieces were used. After being washed, the pieces were laid out on a sheet of 1m squared paper then photographed and sorted according to type and place found. As this progressed, they decided to take studio photographs of all the items found once sorted which took three weeks. Some things had to be discarded either because they were too dirty or too bulky to form part of the mural. This included sanitary items, bags of dog poo, wet wipes, ropes, netting and stoma bags. Julie Barnes then sorted the kept items by colour and size before completing the eight  pictures that comprise the mural.

The Scottish Seabird Centre is very close to the harbour and has a free exhibition of the studio photographs of the sorted plastic.

It is on from 25 March to 25th June 2023. I was there shortly after it opened at 10am and it was very quiet. One thing the Seabird Centre is asking everyone to do is to remove five pieces of rubbish every time you visit a beach and dispose of it properly. Apparently, there are more than 5,000 bits of plastic on every miles of the UK beaches.

Round Britain: Kyle of Tongue to Durness

On By Carol HenshawIn Art & Architecture, Beaches, roads, ScotlandLeave a comment

When the rain stopped early evening yesterday, I watched the sun go down behind the hills across the Kyle of Tongue.

We woke to a still quiet morning and after chatting for a while to the couple in the rented van next to us who were from Vancouver, we headed off across the Kyle.

The original bridge and causeway here were built by Sir Alexander Gibb and partners in 1971 to carry the A838 across the loch. Until 1956 there had been a passenger ferry but the route around the head of the loch involved a narrow road some 10 miles long. The causeway is 32.4 miles long and it crosses a natural island, Tongue Island (Eilean Thunga). The 600 ft bridge is at the western end of the causeway, and it has eighteen spans supported by twin piers. The bridge was refurbished in 2011. There are two parking places along it where you can stop and admire the view.

Just over the bridge is the road to Talmine. There are plans to build Space Hub, Sutherland at Melness, which is north of Talmine. Twelve rocket launches are planned for each year and the promotors say it will provide local jobs. We then entered the Flow country.

It is a huge expanse of blanket bog, moorland and mountains covering much of Caithness and Sutherland. The peat layer is big enough to cover a two-storey house and holds more carbon than all the UK’s woodlands put together. Moine House sits on the old road which was the only road across the bog until the A838 was built in 1993. It was occupied by a forester and his family in the late 19th century.

There is now some street art inside.

The old road is now a walking trail in parts. Today some was closed so that ground nesting birds were not disturbed.

The A838 descends and crosses the River Hope before reaching Loch Eriboll. It is Britain’s deepest sea loch and Ard Neackie is a headland which has the remains of old limestone kilns.

Further on we passed a sculpture croft and Choraidh Croft tearoom which were both closed. We stopped at Tràigh Allt Chàilrgeag where zip wires run across the beach between the two hills and several people were enjoying them . I had a coffee in the van and then wandered down to the beach where a lone surfer was struggling to find some decent waves.

One mile east of Durness village is Smoo Cave a natural sea cave with a 50m entrance, the largest to any sea cave in the British Isles. There are steps down to the entrance.

The cave name is thought to originate from the Norse ‘smjugg’ or ‘smuga’, meaning a hole or hiding place. The cave is unique within the in that the first chamber has been formed by the action of the sea, whereas the inner chambers are freshwater passages, formed from rainwater dissolving the carbonate dolomites. Partway through the cave the waters of Allt Smoo also drop in as a 20 metres high waterfall.

After a short distance on the road you enter Durness. The recently built village hall is on the left, school children having contributed some of the art works.

In front is the John Lennon Memorial Garden. He used to visit regularly as a child with his cousins in their croft at Sangomore.

We found our campsite and settled in, over looking Sango Sands.

Our precious and precarious world

On By Carol HenshawIn Art & Architecture, ScotlandLeave a comment

Numerous events went on in the run-up to the COP26 climate conference including demonstrations, protests and various get-togethers. I had hoped to take join some pilgrims who were walking from Dunbar to Glasgow on the John Muir Way. They were arriving in North Berwick and being accommodated in our church for the night. We had been given the option of joining them for the next stretch from North Berwick to Aberlady. I had my rucksack packed ready but did not sleep at all well the previous night and had to opt out. Most of the big events are a concern because of the pandemic: so many people are heading to Glasgow from all over the world. Hence the only thing I have been to is the art exhibition hosted by St Cuthbert’s Parish Church in Edinburgh. They hoped it would raise awareness of climate concerns, stimulate creative thinking and influence policy makers to act decisively in defence of our precious planet. Anyone could submit works for the exhibition and had we not been quite so busy recently; I might have had time to think about it. Drawings, paintings, sculptures, textiles, photographs or calligraphy were requested on the themes of

  • Climate change
  • Pollution
  • Recycling
  • The beauty and fragility of nature

Fortunately, we were in Edinburgh during the five days the exhibition was on and on the day we visited it was relatively quiet. Many local schools have contributed works including a couple of Polish ones, in addition to local artists, photographers and crafters. I did not take my camera as most exhibitions don’t allow you to take photographs but it turned out that this one did; so I used my phone. St Cuthbert’s church sits at the north end of Lothian Road on a site said to be on one of the earliest Christian sites in the city. The current building was designed by Hippolyte Blanc and constructed in 1894.

Various musical events have been held to open, during the evenings and to close the exhibition but we could not make any of those. Back home we have an electric car on order which we hope will arrive in the New Year and we are also awaiting the installation of solar panels and a power wall. Having moved from the countryside where we were several miles from the nearest shop and public transport to a town where many services are in walking distance and buses and trains are close by. I have joined the local Wildlife Gardening group and we are working towards linking up the Glen conservation area and the equivalent at Yellowcraigs on the other side of town with a network of gardens and wildlife-friendly areas.  

Exploring Eyemouth

On By Carol HenshawIn Art & Architecture, Beaches, Scotland, Scottish Borders3 Comments

Eyemouth is Scotland’s most south-eastern port, only five miles from the English Border. James had a vestry away-day meeting at St Ebba’s church there last week, so I used the time to explore the town. It lies where the Eye Water runs down from the Lammermuir Hills and meets the sea. The current population is around 5,000. In the 17th century it was one of the major Scottish centres of witchcraft. At least two dozen women and one man were found guilty. There was no jail in town, so they were kept in the ‘common pit’ until they were burnt at the stake. I began by walking down to the harbour

and then on to the beach. It was quiet with a few dog walkers and one birdwatcher. The tide was out leaving patterns on the wet sand.

I followed a section of the Coastal Path which runs from Berwick to St Abbs up to the headland where Eyemouth Fort was situated.

The first Trace Italienne Fortification in Britain was constructed by the English in 1547 as part of the Rough Wooing campaign which tried to force a marriage between Prince Edward and the infant Mary Queen of Scots. After the Treaty of Boulogne in 1550 the English troops withdrew from Scotland and the fort was demolished. In 1557 the Scots and their French allies began to rebuild it. However, a treaty in 1559 led to it being demolished. Today all that remains are some earthworks and these cannons.

There were views over Killiedraught Bay towards St Abbs Head.

After a coffee, I wandered over to the other side of town. The harbour was busy with boats bringing in their catches and repair works going on.

There is a regeneration project underway on the waterfront which should be complete by 2023. There was also a seal-feeding stall where children can buy fish to throw to them.

I crossed the swing bridge and walked along the other side of the harbour and up the slope to Gunsgreen House.

The house was designed by Robert Adam for a local merchant, John Nisbet who was also a smuggler. It contains the Smugglers’ House of Secrets Museum but this was closed on my visit. Nearby is Nisbet’s Tower which was a dove cote for Gunsgreen House that was restored in 2005 and is now a holiday cottage.

There is also the memorial to the 189 fishermen who died in the fishing disaster of 1881 when boats went out despite weather warnings. They encountered hurricane force winds which destroyed 26 of the town’s 46 fishing boats. Incoming tides washed wreckage, bodies and personal effects ashore for days afterwards. It took around 80 years for the population to return to the levels of 1881.

The town museum has a moving exhibition about the disaster and lots of other information about the town. It is in the Auld Kirk – the bell still rang on the hours while I was in it. Afterwards, I re-joined James and the others for lunch.

Street Art

On By Carol HenshawIn Art & Architecture, Ireland1 Comment

Our first trip to Northern Ireland to visit my husband’s parents in almost two years coincided with an art project on the North Coast which it was hoped, would increase footfall to the area again. It began in early August and involved street artists from the UK and Ireland to add murals to towns on the coast between Limavady to Ballycastle.  On our visit, not all were completed but we managed to see some. In James’s hometown of Ballymoney which is also known as ‘cow town’ there is a cow on the gable end of a building

and another by Shane O’Driscoll elsewhere in the town.

Queen Street, Coleraine has a large work by artist EMIC.

Port Stewart has two; a Sea Eagle by Danleo adorns one building

and a monochrome one by JMK sits below the Dominican College.

There are five works in Limavady, off Market Street but we did not have chance to see them. Two more are due to be unveiled there. There is also one in Castle Street, Ballycastle but we missed that also.

We have seen a lot of street art on our journeys including a mural of Amelia Earhart in Cuba.

The Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas on Route 66 has regular updates from the public.

This is in Lisbon, Ohio on the Lincoln Highway which we drove in 2016.

Here is a side street in Melbourne, Australia which we found on our journey round Highway One in 2018.

In 2017 we saw a Banksy at Jökulsárlón, Iceland.

St John’s church at the west end of Princes St in Edinburgh has a group of artists who regularly paint a mural on the side of the building, often commenting on current issues. This one was done in December 2016 after a small child migrant’s body was washed up on a shore in the Mediterranean.

I always enjoy spotting some new street art wherever I am, even though it is not something I have tried myself.

Discovering North Berwick

On By Carol HenshawIn Art & Architecture, Beaches, Scotland2 Comments

Having moved last autumn before the last lockdown and only recently been able to go beyond our local council area meant that in addition to settling into our new home, we have at least had time to explore the area. East Lothian is relatively flat, mostly arable land with the Lammermuir Hills and Traprain Law to the south and the Pentlands to the west. Like Edinburgh, there are volcanic mounds including the Law

the Bass Rock.

Fidra,

Criagleith

And the Lamb.

There is evidence of early settlers in the area to the south of the Law including 18 hut circles, middens and a field system dating back 2,000 years. The first record of the town being referred to as North Berwick (to distinguish it from South Berwick as Berwick on Tweed was known as) was in 1250. The town developed a place on the pilgrim trail much earlier; a ferry to Earlsferry in Fife being established in 950AD for those heading to St Andrews. The pilgrimages continued until the mid-16th century. St Andrew’s Auld Kirk is situated down by the harbour on what was a tidal island. It was reduced to ruins by a storm in 1656.

Our house is situated alongside the southern edge of the Glen. There was originally a Mill Pond at the entrance to the Glen and now a culvert passes under the road. Lochbridge Road got its name from the bridge over the reservoir. The water was controlled by a sluice gate and provided power for the three mills which were situated there. Now only the ruins remain. The first path through the Glen was opened in 1856.

The burn flows into what was known as the Mill Sea which later became Milsey Bay and is our nearest beach.

I have been looking at Canmore maps online. The 19th century ones show an iron foundry established in 1821 in the East Bay. Coo’s Green or the East Links where golf was played before 1798 was where the burgesses could graze their animals for a fee until the popularity of golf increased.

Our house is situated on what was part of Rhodes Farm. It also had limekilns and employed several men. In 1904, Abbot’s Croft House was built along with the lodge. In the 1930s Lime Grove social housing was built on some of the land to the east. In 1993 some of the land surrounding Abbot’s Croft was sold to build two houses on each side. Ours is one of the two on the west side, abutting the Glen. Two further housing estates were built on the farmland: Rhodes Park and Ben Sayers Park.  The Lochridge Toll bar at the foot of Heugh Road was installed in 1805 but townspeople did not have to pay tolls. There is now a small roundabout there at the junction with Tantallon Road.

I have also been looking at some of the older buildings in town. St Andrew’s Kirk sits behind the High Street. It was built between 1665 and 1664 to replace the older church.

By 1873 the congregation had overgrown it and in the 1880s moved to St Andrew Blackadder’s Church in the High Street. The Lodge, a group of whitewashed buildings sit in grounds at the bottom of Quality Street.

They were built in the 17th century and originally owned by the Dalrymple family. The tower behind is said to be where St Andrew’s well was. The buildings are now apartments, and the grounds are a public park and gardens.

In 1889 the first reference to the town being called ‘The Biarritz of the North’ was by Edmund Yates, editor of ‘The World’ a weekly society journal. By this time, large numbers of people were visiting on the trains including golfers. Robert Stevenson’s family, including his grandson Robert Louis Stevenson used to spend summers in North Berwick in the 1860s. During the pandemic the town has been very quiet but no doubt that will change when it is over.

Colinton Tunnel

On By Carol HenshawIn Art & Architecture, ScotlandLeave a comment

The railway which ran from Balerno to Princes Street Station and passed through Colinton opened on 1 August 1874. Colinton Station was situated where the access road and car park are currently. Both the tunnel and road bridge were built at the same time. Predominantly used for transporting goods to and from the mills on the water of Leith; passengers were also carried but this ceased on 30 October 1943. All services were withdrawn on 4 December 1967 as part of the Beeching cuts; the tunnel was closed and bricked up. In 1980, the Water of Leith Walkway was created. The tunnel re-opened as part of it, was painted and lighting installed. However, over time the painted walls deteriorated. In 2019 the lighting was changed to LED and work began on creating Scotland’s largest heritage mural. The tunnel is 140 metres long and all of it plus an extension to the outside wall at the Slateford end has been painted.

The lead artist is Chris Rutterford and he has worked with a team of professional and volunteer artists illustrating Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem From a Railway Carriage published in his 1885 book A Child’s Garden of Verses.

The poem runs along one side and on the other are many images linking it to local history.

More than 550 local people and groups including schools have contributed. Around 3% of the walls are still damp so some of the work was done elsewhere on marine plywood and then attached to the tunnel walls. The project has already brought more people to the local area and businesses and got rid of antisocial graffiti in the tunnel. There were quite a few dog walkers, joggers and others on the weekday we visited. We started at the Easter Hailes End near the carpark and walked through to the other end.

An event to celebrate the finished work was planned for September 2020 but of course the pandemic put a stop to that.